The Language Barrier

It was an ordinary February evening and I had just got home after another non-constructive day at work. I greeted my roommates and headed towards my room to get rid of the formal clothes and get into something more sensible for the Chennai weather. As I was stripping down, something caught my eye, a certain article that was stuck on my door.

The article I found stuck to my door.

It was a newspaper article titled, “Tongue Tied” and I was quite surprised to find it on my door. As I read through the first paragraph, it started making sense. The newspaper article was “targeted” on me. Yet another of my roommates attempts at proving I wasn't “Indian” enough, well at least not enough to their liking.

The article was about how the younger generation of Indians, especially in the urban centres, do not know their mother tongues and “are taking recourse to English as a means of communication between themselves and their children”. As a result of this a lot of languages in our country (196 is the number mentioned) are on the verge of  extinction.

Culture and traditions are two words that are extensively used when you talk about India. India has such a rich and diverse cultural history, one which draws tourists from all across the world and language is an essential part of this culture. Then why are languages losing its importance? The answer to some of the most complicated questions is actually quite simple. Like human beings, cultures evolve and this automatically impacts languages also and evolution occurs to adapt better to conditions and improve quality of life.

Why is it that  language plays such a crucial role today, than what it did a century ago or even 30 years back?

Hundred years ago or even 30 years ago, the world was a gargantuan spherical object but today it isn't. It's not that earth has gotten any smaller, but it is a flat world as put beautifully by 3 time Pulitzer Prize winner, Thomas L Friedman in his book - “The world is flat”, the title to which was derived from a statement made by Nandan Nilekani, former Chairman of Infosys. Wiki calls the title a metaphor and says, “It alludes to the perceptual shift required for countries, companies and individuals to remain competitive in a global market where historical and geographical divisions are becoming increasingly irrelevant”. In a nut shell, this means the world is soon becoming a level playing field and factors such as languages are going to lose relevance and could actually be a deterrent.

We are all truly global citizens today and we need to be global citizens if we want to stay competitive and on par with the rest of the world. Had India been averse to using any other “foreign” language like China, the IT boom would have never happened in India. With so many countries having cheap labour to offer, India got the edge because of the large English speaking population. If ability to speak English coupled with a high school degree (fake or original, doesn’t matter) can get you a job paying 10-15,000 Rs to start off, then why not? This in no way means English is superior (or lesser) to other languages; it is about a standard form of communication the world over. Had Hindi or Arabic or anything else been the most spoken language the world across, who knows, we would all be talking one of those languages. Just a few days back I read an article in the newspaper which said CBSE was planning to introduce Japanese for class 10 and 12 students as it would help in employment opportunities considering that a lot of Japanese companies are entering the Indian market. The rules of the game are changing.

It's a multi-dimensional issue which isn't just about money or better career prospects. 

I am a Punjabi, born to Punjabi parents in Hyderabad , brought up in the same city and have been in Chennai for the last 5 years. As a child and even today, I have been in a highly cosmopolitan environment, like it is in most urban centres. Most of my friends have different mother tongues so to keep it neutral and uncomplicated we stuck to English and Hindi. Staying in Hyderabad I picked up Telugu too and my Telugu is a lot better than my Punjabi. As a matter of fact, I hardly know any Punjabi and it has never affected me in any way. Emotionally you can accuse me of “tearing away from my roots”, as the writer dramatically puts it but pragmatically, I can’t think of any way it could have helped me considering the fact that I have no one to speak Punjabi with.

Right through the article the writer has spoken to people from various organizations who all say, “Oh it's bad! Very bad! Terrible! Catastrophe! Anarth! Dushta Dushta!” On being asked why, they all seem to have the same response, “Losing touch with their culture”, but not one of them has given a sensible reason as to why we should stick on with a predefined culture in which they were brought up in and counteract the natural evolution. The writer also mentions that this is not only a trend in India but something seen the world over.

The Indian culture is beautiful and it does not pertain to languages only, it is a way of life. Respect for elders, family, honesty, etc are virtues that can be incorporated even without knowing our mother tongue. We need to find a balance and take the parts of our culture which finds relevance in the current world and with the future in mind. Remember Sati, child marriage and Dowry? They were a part of our culture too. We need to let go of certain things while incorporating newer ideas and beliefs which are in accord with the times.

By no way am I advocating that we must forego our mother tongues and that it is absolutely irrelevant in the modern world. My opinion is based on my life and what I see around me. There might be factors that I may have overlooked or not considered and it is quite natural for you to agree or disagree with some or all of my points.

The main motive of a language is to communicate and today we need to be able to communicate with a lot more people than our neighbours, doodhwala (milkman) Ramu kaka, servant Nagarani and the rest of the village or town. With the advent of technology and internet we need to be able to communicate with everybody around the world, be it New York or Nambaiyufa. The world today is a global village and we need to be able to talk the language the rest of the villagers speak or be left out.

Read the original article at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Are-we-losing-mother-tongue-/articleshow/5729796.cms